Christmas Dinner
by winterwood11
Summary: "She wasn't sure if formally introducing their enemy as her boyfriend would be the best thing to do at a ministry dinner. But… there was nothing she could do about that, she just had to hope that everyone would understand that he wasn't as bad as he was."


This is written for l0stinl0ve, in the yuletide fic exchange :) It's probably going to be a two-shot, which I'll try to update before Christmas. I hope you all enjoy reading this :)

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Hermione Granger was not happy, to say the least. Traipsing off to a ministry dinner on Christmas Eve was not at all her definition of fun. She would much rather relax at home, or be in the burrow having a good laugh and just getting away from all the pizzazz that had come in a package deal with her association with Harry, and her contributions in the defeat of Voldemort. Her only consolation about a wasted night to come was the fact that Harry and Ron were going to be stuck at the event too. Hermione supposed that Ginny would have to go as well, since she was Harry's girlfriend. Well, misery was always better in company.

Hermione frowned at the mirror, holding up the ivory coloured dress she had planned to wear to the dinner. To be truthful, it was the only dress Hermione owned that was suitable for the kind of event. The long evening gown had a floral sweetheart neckline that Hermione found quite sweet. The sheer chiffon material flowed as an exquisite drape, accentuating the curves Hermione had developed. However, Hermione had no idea if it was a little too overdone. It was simple and elegant, yes, but… oh it wasn't as if she had another choice, Hermione thought as she pulled the dress on.

"Hurry up, Granger," A snide voice came from outside her room. A few sharp knocks on the door followed his impatient remark. Hermione sighed.

"I'm coming, Malfoy," She replied with annoyance evident in her voice. Couldn't that irritating git be more patient?

"Well, blame a guy for wanting to see his pretty witch all dolled up," He continued.

_Irritating, but charming. _She admitted in her mind, not that she would ever tell him. His ego did _not_ need any more encouragement.

Hermione casted a quick hair straightening charm and smiled at the effect. Her wild, unruly curls had never quite gone away, and while she didn't mind it, she liked the softness that came with this hairstyle.

"Granger, there's something called being fashionably late, and I completely understand if you want to skip as much of this drab event as possible, but…" His voice trailed off as Hermione slammed the door open and walked toward him. Really, she knew she was almost as particular on punctuality as he was, but sometimes, he was far too impatient for his own health.

"Not bad," He expressed his approval as he gave Hermione an appraising look.

"Don't patronise me," Hermione answered with a smile. She gave him an once-over and nodded as well. His hair fell in a shaggy mess across his forehead, and he was dressed in black and silver wizarding dress robes, with a white bow – a very formal attire.

"You know, you don't have to accompany me there. I'm perfectly safe with Harry and Ron…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she noticed the flash of darkness in his eyes when she mentioned Ron. But, what she said was true. Also, Hermione wasn't very keen on the idea of having her friends and Draco in the same room. She braced herself for a sneer or derogatory remark that was sure to come. But a moment later, his eyes returned to their usual cool amusement.

"Who wouldn't want to be seen with you, when you look so wonderful?" He said smoothly; a smirk turning up the corners of his lips. "At any rate, who said anything about _escorting_?" Hermione watched as he pulled a ministry Christmas dinner invitation similar to her own out of his pocket.

"You got invited too?" She asked incredulously. "Why didn't you say a word when I was ranting to you about it?"

"It was meant to be a surprise," He replied, seemingly innocently. But, Hermione knew better. She narrowed her eyes with suspicion. He had acted so put out when she told him that she couldn't spend Christmas Eve with him, that she had given him a little… replacement reward.

"You sly bastard!" Hermione shouted indignantly, though she could not help but smile.

"Hey, you did it of your own accord!" Draco Malfoy winked, "It was completely mutual, if I remember it correctly. Anyway, what would we have spent the night on, otherwise? You should be happy I gave you something enjoyable. Oh and don't say you didn't like it, I have proof since-"

"Oh keep quiet about that," Hermione groaned, blame it on her kindness. "Now, are we going to go or not?"

"Of course," He said, breaking Hermione's train of thought. He casually put his arm around her waist before she could say a word and apparated them to their destination.

"Draco, I'm completely capable of apparating by myself! There's no need for you to drag me along like that!" Hermione scolded him, smoothing the creases in her dress out as she looked at her surroundings.

The grand hall of the hotel was decorated in red, silver and gold. The multiple balloons in silver and gold reminded Hermione of her family and Hogwarts… She smiled, throwing a glance at Draco's direction, only to see him wrinkling his face in slight contempt.

"Too simple for your liking?" She teased him referring to the decorations.

"Simple would be fine, gaudy, on the other hand...not anywhere near my standards." He said as he guided her along the entrance. "Thank goodness that we decided to come by apparition. Look outside."

"Well, not everyone is as well off as you," Hermione said, turning her head. She couldn't help but grin as she saw the amount of reporters hovering outside the hotel, waiting to pounce on any unfortunate people entering by the man door. They reminded her of vultures, in that sense. Or maybe, she was just biased. Rita Skeeter had ruined her perception of journalists and reporters in the wizarding world.

"Here we are," Draco stopped suddenly in front of a grand mahogany door, "So… what is your grand plan to introduce me to your… _friends_? I'm sure they would wish me to be cursed into oblivion, since I let the death eaters into Hogwarts and more recently, _touched_ you. Of course, it's not that the feeling isn't mutual."

"Oh, just be polite for once," Hermione said exasperatedly, deciding to ignore the part about her being… _touched_.

Her reply was a sneer. But then, she never did expect anything else. The moment she realised that Draco was going with her, she knew that there was going to be an inevitable amount of tension between her friends and boyfriend. She wasn't sure if formally introducing their enemy as her boyfriend would be the best thing to do at a ministry dinner. But… there was nothing she could do about that, she just had to hope that everyone would understand that he wasn't as bad as he was.

He held her hand and started to make his way in, but Hermione paused. Should they go in like this? It wasn't the most subtle manner…

As if he could read her mind, Draco whispered into her ear, "I don't give a damn what those good-for-nothings think. I just want everyone to know that you're mine, and I'm your's."

His hot breath on her ear caused her breath to hitch. Sometimes, she loved how possessive he was; how he would make her feel special, as if nothing mattered but her. He had changed so much over the past few months; he deserved this.

Hermione smiled as he squeezed her hand comfortingly and opened the door.

~~~  
Ginny Weasley tapped her finger against her dress impatiently. It was already half past six. The Christmas dinner was due to start any moment soon.

"Ginny, did Hermione tell you what time she was coming?" Harry, who was sitting to her left, asked.

She shook her head. It should be soon; after all, Hermione was almost _never_ late. She tilted her head toward the entrance again. This time, she was rewarded as she glimpsed Hermione entering the room holding someone's hand – someone with white blond hair. Ginny blinked in shock. It couldn't be… _Malfoy_.

But truth be told, she had suspected it for a while. She just hoped her boyfriend and brother would take it better than she thought they would.

~~~  
Draco Malfoy looked at the direction his witch was staring at, only to find Potter, Weasel and the Weaslette looking at him. The former two were gaping at him with open mouths –which was expected- but the latter had a slight smile on her face. He would have to ask Hermione about that later.

"Look at their expressions," Draco smirked, watching as the Weasel glared at him. "You'd think they'd be less shocked with all the hints you've been dropping to them. Or maybe, they're just too dense to have gotten it."

"Draco, stop that!" His witch nudged him with her elbow, "They're still my best friends! We've been through a lot together."

Did she have to remind him? But that didn't matter. As Hermione had made very clear, she wasn't the kind of person to shag someone without commitment being involved. And now with all that had happened… he had obviously signed up for the job. Great, if the reporters were allowed in here, he was sure to receive hell from his family later.

"Draco?" Hermione's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. By the way she was looking at him, he had missed what she said.

"I beg your pardon?" He asked, realising they had stopped in the middle of the ballroom.

"I was asking which table you were assigned to," Hermione repeated her question, evidently a little flustered with the amount of people who had sneaked a glance at them.

"11," Draco replied absentmindedly. Not that he really cared about his table number; he would sit with Hermione anyway.

"It's the same as mine…"Hermione's voice trailed off with apprehension as she looked toward her trio of friends. He knew what she was afraid of – that he would create problems, in her words. Hermione opened her mouth as if to say something; probably to warn him.

"Look Granger, I'll just ignore them, ok? Though I can't guarantee I won't fight back if they insult me." Draco replied firmly. That was all he could do, there was no way he was going to start _hugging_ them as Hermione would love them to. He shuddered; God forbid that thought.

Hermione bit her lip, "I guess that's good enough."

~~~  
Hermione led the boy to her friends with apprehension, wondering what to say. She couldn't just act casually and pretend nothing was happening, after all. Hermione instinctively turned to Ginny for support, as she sat down. There was silence for what seemed like a minute.

"So, have you been busy?" Ginny asked Hermione, in an effort to lighten the mood. Hermione pounced on the question like it was a lifeboat. It was, in a sense, one.

"Life's been really hectic," Hermione started, "I've had to balance my schedule between my official workload and trying to get funding for S.P.E.W…"

Hermione was interrupted by a snort from Ron. She threw a dirty look at him.

"You're never going to be able to achieve that, you know," The snide voice of Draco Malfoy told her.

She glared at him, "Well, thank you for being so discouraging, not that I'm really affected."

"You're completely welcome," He replied benignly, "It's the truth whether you like it or not."

Hermione sighed with a huff and decided to ignore the boy. He wasn't doing very well with his cause, so far. "What about you, Harry?"

"Fine, I guess," He replied, "Our auror training keeps us really busy." **  
**

"But do you enjoy it?" Hermione continued.

"Aside from the fact that we have to wake up at the absurd timing of six every morning, it's fine," Harry told the girl, with a hint of sarcasm.

Ron stayed silent.

Hermione sighed; this was going to be a long night.

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A/N: This was rather rushed... so I'm sorry if it wasn't that great. Did you like it? Either way, please leave me a review! :)


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